1998 Nissan Micra 1.3 - Project Heartstring

[Spinakerr]

You know when you should have no interest in a car, or even the car type, colour or value, but you just have to buy it? That just happened to me with a Nissan Micra, which I am due to pick up tomorrow. Go easy on me, I know it's not really PH (unless it is doing the Mongol rally!) but I have my reasons.



I never thought I would own a Nissan unless it had RWD and BHP in the hundreds, and even then I would always convince myself there were more brittle, Italian equivalents, so why have I just bought a Micra?

Well, to tenuously link to the thread of 'have you ever bought back your old car?', this was my grandma's car, which I remember bouncing around in way before I passed my test. She was the petrolhead with leather driving gloves, driving sunglasses and a history of Mini Coopers stretching through the decades. She bought this as an alternative to a Mini in 1998 and unfortunately passed away a few years later. A family friend then took it on, and when I heard he was looking to trade it in (whereupon it would descend into the seedy world of auctions and/or scrappers), I'm afraid my icy persona upped a degree or two.

The good news? About 42k from new, FSH, everything seems to work, and it has a rear spoiler plus the 1.3 engine. Lairy. No timing chain rattle either, thank goodness.

The bad news? It has several plants growing on it:




It is also seems to have been buried in a field at some point, as every nook and cranny is full of mud/soil:



Plus the standard K11 crossmember rot:



I wonder what else lurks beneath on a car this unloved but with an MOT running out next week. Good timing eh?

The project is really going to be getting it roadworthy, sorted and into a loving home. Before I move house. And before my P5B and Alfa 164 start need attention.

Still, is has the original Nissan headlight protectors.

Wish me luck for the pickup from Somerset tomorrow...

[Spinakerr]

Caution: many photos of iron oxide cornflakes ahead.

Saturday morning I packed up some tools, overalls and for the pickup. Little did I know what the next 24 hours would bring...

The train to Yeovil Junction was uneventful and scenic, and luckily a lift from the station to the car's resting place awaited. In my parent's drive I had a cup of tea and warmed the engine up. Neglected but fine, and the service history was complete with the requisite oil changes plus sundries.

Sunny afternoon, birds singing in the Somerset idyll - all was calm, so I doused the front of the car in penetrating fluid. As a Londoner the passing sociable pedestrians were unnerving, so it was time to remove that crossmember.

Headlights had two nuts, and a top bolt:



A firm pull:



Then disconnect all plugs by hand:



This reveals the main large nuts and a bolt attached to the crossmember:



Lots of push/screw clips underneath:



Unscrew front wheel arch liners, and some bolts in the corners behind them:



And.. off:



Imperator Furiosa look:



Lovely:



Now for the crossmember itself. Some screws and bolts securing further undertrim, and the radiator/fans are easy to get to:



Central bolts secure the engine to the member and the central pillar. Luckily my dad had a great stock of interesting vintage tools passed down the generations, including this excellent jack to support the central member/mount:



It was here that the enormity of the task hit me. 'Drill the spot welds' I had read, and purchased a cobalt drill bit especially. Well, Nissan were, shall we say, thorough with spot welds. My dad fortunately came to check it, sipped his tea and said 'Do you need a hand?'. Much easier contemplating drill angles and feed the drill oil with two!

One:



20 later:



Taking off the 'ears' to get to the rear welds:



Other side:



And the side sides:



Underneath the washer bottle:



Stubborn doesn't cover it, over an hour of filing as the welds had spread:



After tea, success! With the air con radiator on this example it is tricky to yank out without damage, the best advice I can give is down and out, evenly on both sides.



Crossmember is a relatively cheap part, that I had shipped ahead. Old and new:



Later, we bent back metal we had hurt on the removal, and made a trip to purchase many, many bolts than I had brought:



New member drilled:



Then it was definitely time for a beer, burger and bed.

Next morning, the transfer of the side fastening panels again required filing and modification to the pattern part, and temp bolts in existing hold ensured it was kept straight. The air con rad and other bolts/threads need to all fit in one motion:



Washer bottle back (after replacing some dodgy wiring and refitting leaking/split pipes:



And quickly all back together for a short 2.5 hour journey back to the capital:



Breakfast, tax and insurance and off I went. The journey home revealed the engine to be willing and frugal, the gearbox smooth with a long throw and every single item was working except the air conditioning. The highlight was actually driving the final stretch through narrow London streets - what a revelation driving something so small and parking between two brand new shiny behemoths.

Work to be done:

MOT this week.
2 front tyres (not worn but old), plus balancing/alignment.
Oil filter/change.
Fuel filter.
Spark plugs.
Kwik Fit air con recharge - let's see if it holds anything after 18 years...
Heat shield to be removed (endless rattling).

Also noticed a fuel smell, and upon refueling a loose aftermarket cap with the integrity of a milk bottle top.

Probably plenty more - definitely plenty more.

[Spinakerr]

Thanks for the kind words - I can now report that it has an MOT, but it originally failed on a split CV gaitor:



Luckily this was a quick job - hubcap off, loosen main 27mm nut, jack up and support with stands, take out split pin:



With the wheel off, with plenty of penetrating spray and leverage the two 17mm bolts come out:



Then the 27mm nut can be unscrewed. While at the end, tap the nut gently to split the hub from the driveshaft. With a lot of persuasion, the driveshaft can be moved completely out of the way:



The old CV clips had degenerated and required cutting:



After cutting away the old gaitor and removing the grease, the end of the driveshaft will also tap off:



The new gaitor slips on easily, clipped at the shorter end and then the driveshaft and can be tapped back on (put the nut on the end to as not to damage the splines). Then fill the new boot with grease and fit with the large clip.



Everything goes back together with a little gentle force, and of course a new split pin.



The only other item the tester made a comment on was the number plates, and uneven idle and the general crustiness of the car.

After changing the plugs (they were fine, so kept as spares);



...and shaking a few dozen insect carcasses from the air filter I think the actual culprits were the blocked crankcase breathers/valves. Again, many insects carefully exhumed:









That sorted it out, with no further expense.

A thorough power wash (after some weedkiller), a pint of bug/tar remover, plenty of Gunk and new numberplates ensured a solid MOT. Phew!





I don't think he would have failed the plates, but it nicely lifts the look of the car in any case.

Of course, insurance cost more than the car as my NCB is all on the Alfa Romeo. Oh well, better enjoy it!

Edited by Spinakerr on Saturday 4th June 13:47

[Spinakerr]

Thanks for all your replies and encouragement, I can report the Micra has taken to daily duties with aplomb, and is responding well to some maintenance. I definitely need it in top order for the upcoming house move. It is proving to be an agile, eminently parkable London town car.

t400ble said:

Great work

Sills all good?

Welded a few of these over the years

Not a disaster zone but will definitely need some tidying in the future.

Hammer67 said:

Good work OP, K11s are cracking little things. My daughters W reg needs a crossmember and have been debating whether or not to fire up the welder.

If anything it's probably worse than yours, the rot has spread up the central bonnet lock support which I "repaired" with some angle iron and a few nuts and bolts

Trouble is the damn thing keeps passing MOTs.

Oh it's a (long) day with the right prep - as above it was great fun working with my Dad, and definitely much easier with two people! I would recommend replacement as you may end up chasing rust and the part is very cheap.

E36Ross said:

These type of threads are my favourite.

Taking a car that just needs a little TLC and giving it a new lease of life.

Are you planning to sell it again or going to use as a commuter yourself?

Your Grandma would be proud to see her little Micra getting some love!

We took it on just to ensure it didn't disappear into the quagmire of breakers/auctions, but we have, somewhat inevitably, taken a shine to it (even if I can't get it to actually shine). I can't let cars waste away - it's like Battersea Car's Home outside.

We are moving house shortly and my girlfriend will use it for a London commuter instead of her Rover 75 estate. Once we've got it in tip top order and the house is settled it will likely move on.

davepoth said:

A garage I used to go to had a couple of these as courtesy cars, all of which were completely ruined. But they were hilarious fun to drive, both in terms of the really rev happy engine, and the chassis which is really quite chuckable. I had my first experience of intentional lift-off oversteer in one of those courtesy cars.

Exactly! It's great to have a car that is so enjoyable at low speeds.

Now, in terms of update:

My girlfriend treated the Micra to Kumho's and a full balance and alignment, vastly improving grip.

Then I discovered how cheap and available spares are. Fantastic. Air filter is a little lurid in colour but seems to work:



I actually had 3 litres of 10w40 in various containers so I thought an oil change would be a quick job today. Cue three hours of various jobs, including a recalcitrant rusted-on old filter, definitely not change on the last service:



That was painful - no room for an oil filter wrench so had to go the screwdriver route, with bad access on the drive. Never again!

The on to a standard K11 job - curing rattles from the exhaust and manifold. Most of the exhaust is covered in a heatshield that develops holes, rattles and all sorts of medieval noises while driving. Most of mine were in the high rev range.





After checking safety reports and various forums, I decided to remove the whole lot while the oil drained. I was luck - most bolts came out, with only one needing encouragement with a Dremel:





Weight reduction program completed, I took it for a spin and ... silence! Just the steady thrum of the willing 1.3 - phew!

I treated it to the first fill-up since purchase (350 miles on a 42 litre tank? Is that possible?)

Next on the list - fuel filter, engine bay clean and probably the belts, which look a little cracked. Onwards!

[Spinakerr]

Some minor updates on what has become our most-used car (inevitable, really):

Fossilised fuel filter prized from the engine bay:



Much easier than any other car I've worked on, perhaps apart from a Rover P5B - simply unscrew two clips under the bonnet, wiggle off the rubber hoses and replace. Minimal petrol leakage, fortunately:



The only annoyance I had here are the air-con pipes, which are now redundant but do get in the way of pretty much everything:



The other items was a slight bubble on the roofline, scraped off and treated in a rushed two minute job:



Bilt-Hamber should stave off any more unsightliness developing:



Unfortunately the rear wiper has started to make distress signals in semaphore, rather than a useful wash/wipe motion, and the new filter and oil hasn't stopped the 4-5 drips of oil dispensed after each journey. Harmonic balancer, timing chain cover or something more sinister? We'll see. I don't think there is a K11 micra without an oil leak on the road today.

[Spinakerr]

It wouldn't be a Bank Holiday without cleaning a car as the sun sets, so I decided to tackle the Micra as a) It has been parked under truly demonic trees recently and 2)It is the smallest.

Having recently moved I now have a solid collection of car cleaning potions and flags, all in one place, but after a good scrub I found this:



I was 63.7% sure this was either a polish or T-cut which I decanted when its original bottle split some years ago. It was still vaguely liquid and smelled...well... like a car cleaning something. Might be for metallic green only.

Anyway, one good coat and elbow grease later, the Micra looks back on form, ready to tackle more nonsense and grime of London:

[Spinakerr]

davepoth said:

Ideal for London too, I'd imagine - you must be finding gaps that motorcycles would think were small.

It is consistently fun to park it as close as possible to our destination. I see the world in single yellow lines:



My girlfriend has some better spots on Harley Street and Soho that she has found - I'll take photos next time.

All K11s were fitted with an oil leak as standard at the first service by Nissan, so I decided with a free hour today to tackle the easiest - rocker gasket renewal.

Cruddy engine bay:



Notice the crosshead screws that invariable dethread themselves - I coated these in penetrating spray for a few nights running, then gently teased them back and forth with a socket extension. Awful design.

Cover off and all is well:



The old gasket looked ok - nissan part, good seal, but it seems the cheese bolts had unwound themselves over the years at the cam end.

Degreaser, wire brush and a pressure wash:



New gasket and plenty of sealant:



Some nice hex bolts to complete the look:



Et voila! A step in the right direction:



After running then engine and also tightening some bolts on the cam cover this side of the leak seems to be fixed. The sump now remains for a more involved session - definitely fresh oil seeping out there.

[Spinakerr]

Further parking adventure today. I'm not really sure why there is a half bay marked, but took advantage:

[Spinakerr]

The Spruce goose said:

nice car.

Surprised you didn't paint he rocker cover red whilst it was off.

I also thought the sealant for the rocker cover should be put on sparingly as excess can drop down into the sump and clog the oil pickup filter.

I may pick out the 'Nissan 16V' in red as I have some VHT left over from painting the Alfa Romeo script on a few engines. This was just a scrub and replace job.

Good point on the sealant - I was aiming to be thorough, hopefully nothing untoward will occur.
As it seems the remaining oil leak is the sump, I'll do that when it needs an oil change next year and check the pickup.

In other next, first major component failure:



The original leather fob finally broke. As I wasn't entirely sure of the legality of driving without it, we have been driving the Rover 75 this week.

This weekend we passed this very Nissan garage on the way to my parents, so dropped in to tell them the story. Luckily, as they are still a Nissan dealer, the manager who probably sold it to my grandma gave me a new fob free of charge. Nice chap. No affiliation, just a pleasant experience!

This was fitted in no time (Haynes says 4 spanners and a special Nissan tool), so hopefully it will start next time on the button:



Next time on meaningless updates: replacing those little moulding antennae for that 'new tyre' look.

[Spinakerr]

The K11 continues to be our most-used car, squeezing through traffic and parking in awkward places. Even with the frost it continues to start in 0.5 seconds from a turn of the key, and heating up quicker than any vehicle I've owned.

While I contemplate dropping the sump over the winter, I've sourced some plug & play upgrades. An OEM parcel shelf with the in-built speakers was sourced for a few pounds:



These just required some trim on the O/S to be peeled back to reveal existing wiring, ready to go:



Somewhat harder to track down were the A pillars with in-built tweeters, fitted to some editions such as the SR. Luckily an eBay scrapper had a working set and was willing to post.

These days my partner is unfazed by such distractions while driving:



As with the parcel shelf, existing wiring and plugs were fitted at the factory, so this was easy to connect up. I searched online to ensure I lined the tweeters up correctly and carefully screwed in some self-tappers to hold them tight:



Then the new trims can be clipped back, ensuring no speaker wires are trapped:



Very simple upgrades, but nice to have the original Nissan design. The K11 rewarded me by snapping its bonnet release cable this morning. Oh well.

[Spinakerr]

The K11s cropping up in this forum reminded me to provide a quick update on our own runabout.

As expected, it continues to be the near-perfect tool for tackling London. In this city drivers spend so much money on cars, yet they fail to realise how their low profile-tyred behemoths are unsuited to the narrow, potholed, irregular streets. Oh well.

The size also gives you confidence in tackling any space, especially Single Yellow Unicorns such as this, a stone's throw from Oxford Street:



For maintenance a few items will need to be completed in the summer (gearbox flush, oil sump leak, some rustproofing) but nothing for the MOT hopefully.

Recently the bonnet release stopped working, which was a real pain as it's almost impossible to trip the catch externally. I had to remove the offside grill and work a hook into the latch, then deduce the issue. At the handle, part of the plastic had broken but it still operated after unbolting in. The frayed parts are just the sheath:



The cable hadn't snapped at either end, but there was grit and nonsense in the mechanism preventing full travel:



I unhooked the springs, unbolted the latch (three 12mm bolts) and gave it all a thorough clean:





That seems to have cured it, and I was finally able to top up the screenwash. The Micra soldiers on.

[Spinakerr]

Thanks - unfortunately the gearbox fluid change was delayed by the recent deluge. The linkage is also clanking a bit so I believe a proper investigation is in order once spring is in full swing.

The Spruce goose said:

nice car.

Surprised you didn't paint he rocker cover red whilst it was off.

You're right, time to add 10 bhp. Before:



After:

[Spinakerr]

davepoth said:

I guess you need to pull away in 4th now to avoid shredding the tyres.

It's always been a bit of an animal - might have to dial down the mapping ;-)

I re-sealed the rocker gasket previous over-enthusiastic deployment of sealant, a messy job but it assauged my worry of the oil pikcup getting clogged before I take the sump off this summer. It seems to be the one remaining oil leak, common on these machines.

Today I installed a cigarette lighter for on-the-go phone revitalisation, a 10 minute job.

Two exposed screws on either side of the cubby hole in front of the gearstick:



Then careful removal of the ashtray (simply push down the metal top and pull out), then trace a black wire down to driver's side carpet. It will be the factory-installed T connector for a lighter:



I had a relatively nice lighter with an LED, ran some wire to the nearest dash illumination to come on when the lights are on (the heater above, incredibly fiddly but I spotted them with a dentist mirror), then the lighter plugged straight into the blank hole. All done:

[Spinakerr]

An increasing issue with the faithful Micra has been an increasing oil leak after the car has been used. Having checked the top end, something must be amiss underneath:

Fortunately nothing from the oil filter I changed previously...



...but unfortunately the leak was coming from the narrower end of the sump:



This has resulted in a rather comprehensive covering underneath the car, huzzah for rustproofing etc:





A good scamper through the internet revealed similar tales of woe with sumps as with the front crossmembers, so for 36 pounds delivered I order a new sump:



So, on with removal. I started this at around 17:30, having treated all bolts to penetrating spray the two days previous, and arranging all my tools neatly. Well, sort of neatly. Nearby.

Off with the undertray and offside wheel liners:



Slight leak on the larger end of the sump, but nothing sizeable. Condition of the belts noted for a change in the near term.

The exhaust downpipe needs to be loosened at the cat end for good access, and these bolts are notorious for snapping:



So I avoided it for the time being, taking off the two sump 'struts' with a 12mm socket:



A good socket set with all the length adapters is a must:



Struts off:



There follows 12 10mm bolts on the sump itself, and a screwdriver carefully inserted on offside can then loosen the sump. Take care not to damage the half moon gasket, which needs to be reused:



It was apparent the exhaust would need to be loosened, I couldn't wiggle around it, and unfortunately one of the 14mm bolts snapped.



Also, the central support needs to come off, which filled me with dread as I really don't like loosening main supports while working under a car. I put another jack under the engine/transmission to give me confidence, then took out the 14mm bolts at the front and front engine mount. Then, the rear two bolts can be loosened to give enough movement to free the sump:



Blurred photo excuse: I was taking this with my nose as my phone won't recognise gloved fingers:



With the sump freed, a quick inspection revealed the engine carrying no major defects, and plenty of gasket sealer to clean off the mating surface:



The two rubber end seals could then be cleaned up:



And sealant applied to the new sump:



Getting the sump back on was tricky - the smaller seal in particular has no visibility, so I took both off and stuck them on the engine, then pushed the sump up to meet them. Cue some expert flailing to locate the sump bolts while holding it on with one hand:



Once tightened sufficiently, I could see the large seal had seated well but have no visibility on the smaller on. Time will tell...

Downpipe back on, actually quite a good fit even with one bolt:



The the struts can go back, and the centre member plus the engine mount:



By now it was most definitely dark, and I had half a kilo of encrusted grime in my face, nails and hair. Nevertheless, I fired up the torches, checked in 2.8ltrs of 10w40 and fired it up.... no leaks! So far, at least. Let's see what this cardboard transforms into tomorrow...

Edited by Spinakerr on Friday 14th April 09:00

[Spinakerr]

Fudge:



Unfortunately the exact same amount of oil, from the same area at the narrow end of the sump, as before, after each trip. Most annoying. There's no way I'm doing that sump removal again in a hurry - anyone have any ideas where else it could be from?

I could go halfway and really tighten the bolts at that end, but I think I'll just have to live with it for the time being. Teatime...